1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Raman amplifier amplifying multiple-wavelength light, a wavelength multiplex transmission apparatus or a wavelength multiplex transmission system employing it, and a Raman amplifier adjustment method for adjusting the Raman amplifier.
2. According to a wide spread of the Internet, an amount of information to be transmitted via the network increases. Therefore, it is an essential issue to achieve increase in a capacity of the network and a long-distance data transmission system.
As a core technology for achieving long-distance data transmission and large-capacity data transmission, a Raman amplifier has been studied to be put into a practical use. The Raman amplifier is an amplifier which utilizes an optical fiber connecting medium as an amplification medium by supplying pumping light thereto.
In the Raman amplifier, as shown in FIG. 1, when pumping light having a wavelength is supplied to an optical fiber, a Raman gain is generated in a wavelength zone corresponding to the pumping light wavelength. There, difference between the pumping wavelength and the wavelength at which the Raman gain has a peak is approximately 100 nm.
In order to obtain the gain throughout a wide wavelength band, it is necessary to provide pumping light in a plurality of different wavelengths. In an example shown in FIG. 1, pumping light 1 through pumping light 3 having mutually different wavelengths are used. When such pumping light in a plurality of wavelengths is supplied to an optical fiber, a Raman gain is generated for pumping light in each wavelength. In the example shown in FIG. 1, Raman gains 1 through 3 are generated by means of the pumping light 1 through pumping light 3. Accordingly, by appropriately controlling power of each pumping light, it is possible to obtain a substantially flat gain throughout a wide wavelength band.
For this purpose, in the Raman amplifier, normally, light power in input multiple-wavelength light is monitored, and the power of each pumping light supplied is adjusted so that the light power thereof may be kept in a predetermined level. Further, in the Raman amplifier, since ASS (Amplified Spontaneous Scattering) noise is inevitably generated, a function of subtracting the ASS noise component from a received light power value is needed. Thereby, light power of multiple-wavelength light can be detected properly.
Such a Raman amplifier may involve the following problems:
1) The Raman gain depends on optical characteristics of the fiber connecting medium (transmission path) applied. Thereby, due to variation in the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium, a desired. Raman gain may not be obtained. As a result, a substantially flat gain may not be obtained, as shown in FIG. 3, for example. For example, even when the pumping light power is adjusted for obtaining a substantially flat gain assuming standard optical characteristics, actually, a non-flat gain such as that shown in FIG. 3 may be obtained in a case where a new data transmission system is built and actual optical characteristics of an actual fiber connecting medium differ from the standard ones.
2) Since the above-mentioned ASS noise is in proportion to the Raman gain, the ASS noise varies when the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium vary. Therefore, it is difficult to properly estimate the ASS noise, due to variation in the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium. As a result, it becomes not possible to properly detect input power of multiple-wavelength light itself. For example, in a case where the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium vary while received light power (sum total of multiple-wavelength light power and noise component) is same, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, power of the multiple-wavelength light itself (power of signal light obtained from excluding the noise component) actually differs. If the power of the multiple-wavelength light cannot be detected accurately, accuracy in detection of ‘input interruption’ which may occur due to a trouble in an upstream station, a cable break or such, may be degraded accordingly. ‘Input interruption’ means a state in which multiple-wavelength light cannot be received at the relevant Raman amplifier due to a case such as that mentioned above.
Accompanying the above-described problems, the following negative effects may also appear:
1) At a time of installation of the Raman amplifier, when the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium are actually measured, and the output of the pumping light source is adjusted manually according to the thus-obtained characteristics, a very large labor and a long time are required.
2) Since the Raman gain characteristics fluctuate depending on aging of the fiber connecting medium, the ambient temperature or such, the Raman amplifier should be designed to have a margin considering the fluctuation. Accordingly, the efficiency in the Raman amplifier cannot be kept high enough in design.
3) In an optical amplifier having an EDFA (Erbium added fiber amplifier) provided subsequent thereto, a gain in the EDFA is controlled in a condition in which the ASS noise amount includes error. Thereby, quality in data transmission characteristics may be degraded.
The variation in the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium occurs mainly due to the following causes:
1) An optical loss may occur due to contamination in a connecting point between optical fibers (for example, between a fiber connecting medium and an intra-station fiber, for example) or a bending loss in the optical fiber. Such optical loss may be controlled less than 0.5 dB in a station building in a good condition, while it may amount to more than 2 dB in a station building in a bad condition.
2) Fabrication variation may occur in characteristics (loss coefficient, effective cross-sectional area or such) of the fiber connecting medium itself. Especially, influence by the loss coefficient is serious. For example, the loss coefficient of an optical fiver in a good condition is controlled less than 0.21 dB/km while the same in a bad condition may amount to more than 0.25 dB/km. Accordingly, assuming that the length of a fiber connecting medium is 50 km for example, a variation of more than 2 dB may occur in the bad condition.
3) Generally speaking, a fiber connecting medium is produced by splicing a plurality of optical fibers for every kilometers. A loss inevitably occurs at each splicing point. Such a loss in each splicing point is less than 0.1 dB in a better condition, while it may amount to more than 0.5 dB in a worse condition. In this connection, it is noted that intervals of splicing points and the number of splicing points provided between adjacent stations depend on a particular network system.
4) The ambient temperature or aging of the relevant optical fiber influences the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium as mentioned above.
Generally speaking, a bender which manufactures the optical amplifier (Raman amplifier) is different from a bender which manufactures and installs the fiber connecting medium applied thereto. Therefore, the bender of the optical amplifier cannot directly manage the optical characteristics of the fiber connecting medium. Accordingly, it is not possible to reduce the above-mentioned issue concerning ‘variation in the optical characteristics in the fiber connecting medium’.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2002-296145 (especially, FIG. 1, and paragraphs 0028 through 0040) (parent document #1) discloses an art directed to solving these problems. An apparatus disclosed in this document includes an OTDR (optical time domain reflectometry) measuring function, and, with the use of this function, optical characteristics in a fiber connecting medium are measured. Then, based on the measured optical characteristics, a Raman gain is calculated. However, when the OTDR measuring function is thus provided in the optical amplifier, the optical amplifier should have its size increased, and also, have the costs increased, accordingly.
As such a Raman amplifier, distributed Raman amplification (DRA) modules each including one or a plurality of pumping light sources utilize Raman amplification effect. According to the Raman amplification effect, as a result of pumping light (at high intensity, i.e., more than 100 mW) being input to an optical fiber connecting medium made of silica or such by means of the DRA module, the optical fiber itself acts as an amplification medium.
A gain of the DRA module depends on the pumping light amount input to the optical fiber connecting medium, and therefore, the DRA module should be controlled, in the pumping light amount, according to a signal light level monitored, in order to obtain the signal light at a desired level of gain (output).
However, when pumping light having high intensity is input to the optical fiber connecting medium, while signal light is amplified according to the Raman amplification effect thereof, the above-mentioned ASS light is also generated, which acts as signal noise. A light receiving device (made of a photodetector or such) which monitors the signal light receives not only the signal light itself but also the ASS light, and also, it receives so-called ASE light inevitably (see FIGS. 26 and 27). Therefore, in order to perform control such as to obtain the signal light at a desired constant level accurately, it is necessary to calculate and estimate the ASS light amount generated as a result of the pumping light being input to the optical fiber connecting medium. Especially in a case where the number of wavelengths multiplexed is small, or the signal light level is low, a ratio of the ASS light amount is large with respect to the signal light level, and thus, it is necessary to estimate the ASS light amount more accurately. International Patent Publication No. WO02/019023 (patent document #5) discloses a method for accurately estimating the ASS light amount in which predetermined pumping light is input to a specific fiber, and, while the pumping light amount is monitored in a DRA module, the ASS light amount generated in the fiber is measured. Thereby, a relational expression between the pumping light amount and the ASS light amount is derived, and therewith, the ASS light generation amount is estimated from any particular pumping light amount to supply.
However, as mentioned above, even when a same type of fiber is applied, variation exists in a loss coefficient and an effective core cross-sectional area which influence a Raman gain and an ASS light generation amount, and also, variation exists in an optical loss (local loss) occurring between the DRA module and the fiber connecting medium due to conditions of the connecting medium (transmission line) applied. Therefore, in a case where an actual connecting medium has conditions different from those for which the above-mentioned relational expression was derived, error occurs between the actual ASS light generation amount and the ASS light estimation amount obtained in the optical amplifier itself. Thereby, the accuracy in estimation of ASS light amount may be degraded actually.
Thus, such a factor degrading the ASS light generation amount estimation accuracy may obstruct achievement of a desired signal light constant control result even when signal light constant control is performed for obtaining a desired signal light level. For example, in a case where an ASS estimation amount is smaller than an actual one, control may be made based on erroneous recognition as if a signal light level reaches a desired one even when the actual signal light level is smaller than the desired one (see FIG. 28). Especially in a case of a multi-stage optical transmission apparatus in which many optical amplifiers each including the DRA module are connected in series, degradation in ASE correction accuracy due to ASS light generation amount estimation error may obstruct proper ASE correction in a downstream station, which may result in degradation in a signal-to-noise ratio at a signal receiving station (OSNR).
Further, generally speaking, a DRA module has very large power, and thus, there is dangerousness due to leakage of the pumping light from a fiber terminal end. Therefore, for the purpose of safety, a function of shutdown (forcible output reduction/elimination) of pumping light sources in the DRA module is provided. Specifically, for example, occasion of connector opening, fiber break or such is regarded as an event of ‘input interruption’ of signal light detected by means of the light receiving device in the DRA module, and it is used as a trigger for the above-mentioned shutdown. However, in a case where such a method is applied, when a threshold light level for determining the input interruption is low, there is a possibility of remarkable degradation in the input interruption accuracy or function, which results in erroneous detection or erroneous non-detection. In a case where input interruption erroneous detection occurs, the pumping light in the DRA module is forcibly turned off and thus, the function of the optical amplifier is turned off although an actual state is a state in which the optical communication apparatus can operate normally. In such a case, a transmission error alarm is generated in a downstream transmission apparatus, and thus, the data transmission quality may be remarkably degraded. On the other hand, in a case where even when connector opening or fiber break actually occurs in an upstream connecting medium, this matter is not detected in the DRA module due to erroneous determination (input interruption non-detection), the above-mentioned shutdown trigger is not applied, and thus, a dangerous state may occur due to pumping light leakage from the fiber terminal end in the DRA module as mentioned above.